Tufting machine



June 20, 1961 G. D. DEDMON TUFTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1957 M. H mm m 3 m W0 7 A NEW OOOOOOO OOOO OOOQOOOOD June 20, 1961 G. D. DEDMON TUFTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 4, 1957 AA B INVENTOR, 0, GEORGE DE MON. BY

ATTORNEY.

June 20, 1961 G. D. DEDMON 2,989,014

TUFTING MACHINE Filed March 4, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEK June 20, 1961 G. D. DEDMON 2,989,014

TUFTING MACHINE Filed March 4, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 III fly.

ANVENTOR. GEO/PGEDEOMON.

ATTORNEY.

June 20, 1961 G. D. DEDMON TUFTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 4, 1957 INVENTOR. GEO IPG EDED Mo N.

ATTORNEK United States Patent F 2,989,014 TUFTING MACHINE George D. Dedmon, Rossville, Ga., assignor to Carolyn 'Cllemlles, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 4, 1957, Ser. No. 643,865 3 Claims. (Cl. 112-79) The present invention relates to a tufting machine and particularly relates to a tufting machine for applying ornamental designs to fabrics and particularly to woven fabrics, although not limited thereto.

The present invention will be particularly described in its application to make ornamental tufted bedspreads and decorative covers which may be used for other purposes but it is to be understood that it has a broad application to tufting and predetermined designs in connection with materials and particularly textile fabrics.

In the production of tufted bedspreads and other covers, the tufting is applied in rows by means of a tufting needle with the loop of tufted material being engaged after the needle has penetrated the fabric and with the tuft or groups of tufts being retained upon the hook and then being cut at the peak of the tuft by a knife device having a relatively oscillating movement. Although various types of skip stitch machines have been employed involving variation in the spacing of the rows of tufts, it has not been readily possible to provide specific configurations or designs arising by variation of rows of tufts according to predetermined designs and formations.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a system of applying rows of tufting and at the same time simultaneously arranging and forming such rows in designs which is readily applicable either to a small sewing machine or to a large size multi needle tufting mechanism with assurance that the design will be reliably repeated as many times both widthwise and lengthwise, as may be desired.

Another object is to provide a tufting arrangement for applying ornamental, geometrical or other variant designs to textile fabrics in connection with the production of bedspreads or other tufted covering materials, which will require a minimum of manual labor and permit large escale production at low cost and with a product which will have a plurality of conforming designs arranged over the face of the fabric.

. Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, that this more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most satisfactory to provide a plurality of rows of reciprocating needle bar elements which continuously reciprocate but which may be engaged or disengaged in respect to the tufting needles in accordance with the predetermined design control element or elements.

In a preferred form of the invention, the reciprocating needle bar is normally caused to engage or disengage a needle element normally held in retracted position by a 2,989,014 Patented June 20, 1961 ice spring in accordance with a pattern control device which in one form of the invention consists of rotating a cylinder on which the pattern has been formed.

This rotating cam cylinder may have a facing of plastic or sheet material which has been cut out at various places or according to a predetermined design to cause engagement or disengagement between the reciprocating needle bar and the needles.

Associated with each needle bar is desirably a follower or contact finger or lever which is designed to ride upon the face of the pattern control or symmetrical cam and withdraw at predetermined intervals a clutch or engagement between the reciprocating needle bar and the tufting needle, and at other times to permit the same to engage with the tufting needle during such engagement, reciprocating together with the needle bar.

In one form of the invention, a sliding element is asso-' ciated with the reciprocating needle bar and it is normally spring biased toward engagement with. the needle so that both will reciprocate together at the same time the needle is spring biased toward withdrawn position upward and away from the fabric.

When the cam lever or control lever is riding over the elevated portions of the control pattern or cam cylinder it will withdraw the engagement from connection with the needle bar, permitting the needle to be held up in inactive position.

However, when the control lever is permitted to contact and move into a recess portion of the control pattern on the cam cylinder, the engagement will be released and brought by the spring into a notch in the needle, causing the needle and needle bar to reciprocate together and the tufting to take place on the fabric.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter more specifically described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications can be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIGURE 1 is a' rear elevational view, showing the row of needles, needle bars, and the control pattern roller at the top thereof, FIGURE 1 being taken upon the line 1-1 of FIGURE 2;

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view taken upon the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing the relationship of the pattern roller, the lever and the needle bar and needle in respect to the fabric being tufted;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view taken upon the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, showing the needles and needle bars from the rear of the machine;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary detailed perspective view showing the selector or control finger in its position as it is designed to ride upon the pattern control or cylinder;

' FIG. 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken upon the line -55 of FIG. 3, showing the manner of securing engagement or disengagement between the reciprocating needle bar and the tufting needle;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic side perspective view showing the position of the needle bars and needles and the manner in which selected needles are caused to reciprocate while others are permitted to remain in inactive position.

FIG. 7 is a plan view constituting the developed layout of the pattern on the pattern cylinder as it would be if unrolled.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view, showing the completed fabric with the tufted design applied thereto as it is produced by the mechanism of FIGS. 1-6.

Referring particularly to FIG. 2, there is shown a sewing machine head A which carries the reciprocating needle bar B and the presser foot or presser bar rod C which actuates the presser foot D to hold the fabric down against the plate or bed E of the sewing machine having the openings F through which the tufting needles G may reciprocate.

The reciprocating needle bar B which is driven and caused to reciprocate vertically by the sewing machine head carries the latch pin bar H which has a plurality of openings receiving the latch pins or engagement pins I. These pins J are designated to cause engagement or disengagement between the latch pin bar H and the needle carrier K, which carrier rides through the upper and lower bearing blocks L and M held by the holder bed plate N.

The latch pins or engagement elements I are normally spring biased into engaging position by the latch pin springs P. The latch pins 1 are drawn rearw-ardly by means of the latch cables or cords Q which are operatively connected to the pattern fingers or control levers R.

The pattern fingers or control levers R ride upon the pattern cam or control cylinder S. The spring fingers T press the yarn U as it passes through the tufting needles G and prevent unthreading while the thread pull-ofl members V will jerk down a new supply of yarn U.

The needles G, together with their carriers K are normally held up away from the bed plate E by the springs W with the carriers K being stopped at top position by contact with the carrier stop leaf springs X when the latch pin or engagement pin is in the position as shown in FIG. 2.

The fabric Y in passing across the bed E will receive a plurality of rows of tufts Z which are arranged in the pattern shown in FIG. 7.

The loops of tufting when forced through the fabric Y will be engaged by the hook AA (see FIG. 2) and then cut by the oscillating knife BB to form the cut tufts Z. Referring to FIG. 2, the sewing machine head A carries the rearwardly extending bracket 10 upon which is mounted a bearing structure 11 carrying the shaft 12 for the cylinder 13 for the pattern or control structure S. Normally, the pattern or control lever S will have adhesively or otherwise permanently connected thereto a sheet of material 14 on which there are a series of mounds or projections 15 of a wear-resistant plastic material.

This pattern may be laid out in the flat as appears in FIG. 7 with the plastic material 15 being cut away in portions as indicated for example at 16., 17 and 18 and with each step 19, 20 and 21, 22, 23, etc. constituting the space of one row of tufting controlled by one reciprocating needle bar and one reciprocating tufting needle.

' The distance between the edges 24 and 25 is equivalentto the circumference of the cylinder 13 and the space between the edges 26 will correspond to the width of the.

of any desired width; instead of plastic material, the' mounds 15 and-recesses 16, 17 and'18'respectively willj 4 be made of conducting and non-conducting material or vice versa with the latch bars I then being electromagnetically or solenoid-controlled so as to secure engagement and disengagement between the reciprocating needle G and the latch bar.

The rearwardly extending bar 10 also has a downwardly extending structural element 35 which forms a bearing for the shaft 36 on which is pivotally mounted the pattern fingers or pattern levers R.

Each of these fingers or levers R is provided with a central bar portion 37 having a hub 38 with an upper forwardly projecting cam follower element 39 having a beveled underface 40 to enable it to follow the projections and depressions in the pattern roller S as indicated in FIG. 2.

The pattern roller S, as shown in FIG. 1, will be driven from the pulley 41 and the belt 42 which pulley is mounted on the shaft 12.-

The shaft 12 has the bearings 43 at each side of the machine and at the right side, as shown in FIG. 1, there will be a hand controlled wheel 44 and an additional pulley 45.

The be1t'42 is driven from the shaft 46 through the speed reduction unit 47, the shaft in turn being driven from the sewing machine head drive.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, mounted upon the face 55 of the pattern fingers R will be the latch stroke adjustment bar 56 by means of the screw members 57. This barhas a series of openings 58 which enable its height to be adjusted in respect to the bottom edge 59 of the pattern finger R. The lowermost opening 60 will carry the cable holder element 61 having the eye 62.

This member will be held in position by means of the set screw 63 after adjustment. a latch cable Q which extends to and engages the eye 64 in the flattened portion 65 to the rear of the latch pin or engagement bar (see FIGS. 2 and 5).

Extending through the same eye will be the rear loop 66 of the latch pin spring P which at its forward end 67 is held in position by the screw 68 mounted upon thev bar element H which is reciprocated by the needle bars B. The bar or block H extends across the machine and it has a plurality of through openings 67' which receive.

the bearing sleeves or latch pin bushings 68'. These latch pin bushings are held in position by means of the tips 69 of the screws 68 which also hold in position the 1 forward loops 67 of the springs P (see also FIGS. 5).

Extending downwardly at the sides of the machine are the brackets 80 and 81 which are connected by the bolts 82 and 83 at the ends of the holder structure N which in turn carries the upper and lower needle carrier- 1 comb bearings L and M by the screws 84 and 85.

FIG. 5, and behind the faces 90 of the lower comb struor ture M, as shown in FIG. 6.

As shown best in FIG. 6, the carrier bars K are normally held lightly in upward position by the spring W' which at their lower ends are looped as indicated at 92 through the openings 93 in the top of the needle carriers K. The springs W are engaged at their upper ends 91 in the holder structures 94 mounted upon the side of the sewing machine head A.

The leaf spring stops X will limit the upward movement of the needle carriers K, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. These leaf spring stops X are held in the slots 95 in the holders 97 by the set screws 96. The blocks 97 in turn are clamped by means of the split structures 98 and the bolts, 99 upon the fixed shaft 100 which at its ends is;

The eye 62 will carry.

held by the bars 101 (see also FIG. 2) extending forwardly fromthe machine structure.

Theyarn U isfed from a supply of yarn (not shown) past the discs 102 which are pressed together by the coil spring .103 on'theshaft 104 (see FIG. 2). The tension may be varied by means of the nut 105.

The elements 104 in turn are supported on the machine structure by the base elements 106 (see FIG. 2).

The .ya'rn thenpasses through the guide 107 having the opening 108 and supported upon the machine structure 109.

The yarn U then passes through the eye 110 in the plate 111 which is mounted by the screw 112 on the right angular resilient holder 113. This holder is mounted by the bolt 114 on the member 94 attached to the sewing machine head A.

The yarn then passes through the eye 115 held with the lower end of the obliquely downwardly extending carrier element 116 held in position by means of the bolt 117 at its upper end (see FIG. 2). The yarn then passes through the horizontal flange 11-8 of the thread pull-ofi angle member V which is held in position by means of the screw or rivets 119.

The yarn then passes through the eye 102 of the needle G. The pull-off V will jerk down an additional supply of yarn upon each reciprocation and to prevent the needle from becoming unthreaded when this jerking action takes place the spring leaf element T presses against the side of the needle G adjacent the eye 120.

This spring leaf element has a reduced width resilient projection portion 121 which extends rearwardly from the main section 122. The main section 122 is held in position in the slot 123 in the bar 124 (see FIG. 6). This bar is held at its ends by means of the angle brackets 125 (see FIG. 2).

The spring fingers T are held in position in the slots 123 by the lower plate 126 which is held in position by means of the screws 127. The presser foot or presser plate D has the upwardly extending lugs 140 (see FIG. 1) which engage the pivot bar 141. The pivot bar 141 extends through the forwardly extending arm 142 having the hub 143 held in position by the set screw 144 on the lower end 145 of the presser foot rod C.

This foot or bar D will hold the fabric Y against the bed plate E as it is being tufted by the needle G and the fabric after tufting will be released as it is moved to the left, as indicated by the arrows 146 in FIG. 2.

The successive loops will be engaged by the hook AA which is carried on the bar 147 held in the holder 148 and oscillated as indicated by the double arrow 149 about the shaft 150 to engage successive loops.

The knife element BB will cut off successive loops after about three or four hooks have accumulated upon the hook AA. The knife element BB will be positioned at the upper end of the bar 151 and it is oscillated by means of a shaft 152 so as to assure such loop cutting action resulting in the cut loops Z.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and. 6, it is indicated that some needles are in down position while other needles are in up position.

This indicates the manner of the tufting operation where certain needles will be forming tufts in the fabrics while other needles will be held by the springs W out of operative position with the latch pins or engagement elements I being disengaged as the result of the interaction between the fingers R and the cam or pattern rollers F.

When the upper nose of the lever R can move to the left, as shown in FIG. 2, with the nose engaging or fitting into a recess between the mounds or elevations 15, the engagement on latch pins I will be permitted to fit into the recesses 86, resulting in simultaneous upward and downward movement of the needle bars "B, as well as the needle carriers K and the needles Q, causing a tufting operation.

The other needles, however, which are associated with a pattern finger R which is in its right position, will not be operated and no tufting will be taking place.

As a result, a tufted design will be achieved as shown in FIG. -8 which corresponds to the pattern on the pattern roller S. During this operation the hooks AA will engage successive loops and the knives BB will'cut the It is thus apparent that the applicant has provided a relatively simple embroidering system for achieving variant and other geometrical designs in a tufted fabric with a minimum of manual labor and with assurance that there will be a continuous repetition of predetermined designs per unit width and per unit length of the fabric.

While there has been herein described a preferred form of the invention, it should be understood that the same may be altered in details and in relative arrangement of parts within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I claim:

1. A bedspread tufting machine to apply a plurality of closely spaced rows of tufts with intervening untufted spaces forming a decorative pattern comprising a horizontally mounted rotatable pattern roller having elevated portions and recessed portions to form a pattern, means to rotate said pattern roller, a vertically positioned lever having a central pivot mount midway of its length and height with a projecting portion at its upper end to ride against and upon said pattern roller, a vertically reciprocating needle bar, a lower bearing block on the end of said bar having a horizontal circular bearing recess extending horizontally therethrough, a horizontal latch pin reciprocably fitted in said bearing recess to reciprocate therein, a horizontally positioned elongated pull member connecting the lower end of the lever and one end of said pin so that said pin will move in the opposite direction from the upper end of said lever, a coil spring mounted at one end on the bottom of the block and at the other end connected to the end of said pin connected to said pull member so as to place tension on said pull member and to press said projecting portion of said lever against said pattern roller and a vertically extending needle carrier, a needle projecting downwardly from the lower end of the carrier, said carrier having a notch to engage the other end of said pin away from the attachment to spring and the pull member, said coil spring biasing said other end of the pin into engagement with said notch and when engaged causing said bar and carrier to reciprocate vertically together and said lever when said projecting portion rides upon an elevated portion of the roller moving the other end of the pin out of said notch so that said carrier will stand still and not reciprocate with the bar and said pull member being at all times located in a substantially horizontal plane, and said vertically positioned lever being located between the pattern roller and the needle bar.

2. The machine of claim 1, an upwardly extending coil spring connected at its lower end to the upper end of the carrier to move said carrier when not latched to the bar to its uppermost position, upper and lower bearing blocks for said carrier positioned above and below said latch pin, a horizontal leaf spring stop member to contact the upper end of said carrier above said upper bearing block to limit the upward movement of the carrier under action of said upwardly extending coil spring when disengaged from said latch pin.

3. The machine of claim 2, a reciprocable horizontal yarn guide mounted at the lower end of the bar from which the yarn passes downwardly to the needle and fixed outwardly projecting upper and lower yarn guides posithe yarnto said horizontal yarn' guide,"the upper guide.

being'horizonta'lly positioned and the lower 'guidelaeing vertically positioned and said three guides each including' a plate having an opening through which said yarn passes without spring tension. References Cited in the file of this patent v 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 Harris May '4, 1897 8 Richards Novel, 1 898 Boyce Dec. 11, 1934' Boyce Dec. 11,1934 Boyce Dec. 11, 1934' Boyce June 11, 1935 Boyer Jan. 31, 1950 Lowbord Oct. 30, 1956 Thompson i Feb. 12, 1957 Smith Feb. 26, 1957 MacCafiray Mar. 12, 1957 Crawford Sept. 23, 1 958 

